Parking in front of Ballet Austin ~ 3rd St Protected Bike Lane

Culture of Activity Newsletter
Vol. 2 No. 1
Welcome Everyone!
Thanks so much for joining us on the second year of our newsletter.
We’re delighted to have you along for the ride.

Active Towns Original Content
Happy New Year! It’s so wonderful to have you following along with the Active Towns Initiative. We’re happy to report that we’ve increased our subscriptions by 15% just in the past week. That’s so cool!

Our Most Recent Films

We’ve recently produced two new films we’d like share with you in this edition, both of which happen to feature our 3rd Street protected Bikes Lanes here in Austin, TX.

The first is Episode 37 – Austin, TX: A 3rd Street Montage which was shot entirely on John’s iPhone 6 while he was walking to and from his haircut appointment. At just 75 seconds long it’s a quick hit of protected bike lane awesomeness.

The second is Episode 38 – Austin, TX: Big Jump Announcement where we documented the city of Austin’s announcement that they’ve been selected by the People for Bikes organization as one of 10 cities across the United States to participate in their Big Jump Program. The purpose of the program is to help stimulate profound increases in the number of people choosing to ride bikes on a daily basis. Be sure to watch all the way to the end for some great footage of the 3rd Street protected bike lanes. In doing so you’ll get a sense as to how Austin is going to take that next big jump in the number of people deciding to ride.

A Big Announcement of Our Own

Normally in this space we profile a flashback film from our archives, but in this edition of the newsletter, we are excited to announce that we have finally created an easy and convenient way for you, the fans of the Active Towns Initiative, to help support our efforts. We’ve recently launched our own Patreon page, where for as little as $1 per month, you can become a Patron of our efforts to profile the people, places and programs promoting a healthy, culture of activity and inspire others, individuals and communities alike, to take up the charge to do so as well.

As a 501c3 non-profit that provides all of our content to the public, free of charge, we do rely upon the generosity of our donors, sponsors and Patrons. Please consider making your own tax deductible contribution. For more information, click on our website’s Fundraising page

Other Interesting Content
The following are a few items that have caught our attention over the past couple of weeks or so.
Don’t hesitate to let us know if you see any relevant articles, interesting research or thought provoking blog posts – just drop John an email at: john@activetowns.org

Does Anyone Ride in the Winter?:
Oh yeah! We love this little Blog Post about riding bikes in Amsterdam and how so much of the activity of riding a bike, even through the cold and snow, is about habit. Hope you enjoy it as well.

Activity and Mood:
When we think of the benefits physical activity we almost always think about cardiovascular health and maintaining our weight, but movement has a profound impact on our mood as well. In the article, Get Up and Move. It May Make You Happier, Gretchen Reynolds talks about recent studies that support the notion that activity, even at lower levels of intensity can help in our sense of wellbeing. We also note that if this movement can include a bit of nature, like a stroll through a park or a run along a waterway, the results might just be amplified.

A Walk Worth the Effort:
We were honored to have a shout out in this touching personal story by Michelle Erfurt titled Why Walking is Worth the Effort for Me. It tells of a parent’s struggle to get a little activity integrated into her day and the “surprising” immediate benefits of doing so.

Parting Thoughts
Make 2017 A Great Year!
At a time when there is much uncertainty in the world, we can all make a difference in our communities by getting involved and engaged at the local level. We appreciate your interest in the content we are creating and curating and hope you’ll be able to use it within the places you call home.

Purpose of the Newsletter
The primary goals of this periodic email-based newsletter are to keep our subscribers up to speed on recent Active Towns original content and review relevant curated content created by others, hopefully educating and entertaining along the way while inspiring action.

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Archive
To see an archive of past issues click on this Newsletters link.